[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 75 (Tuesday, April 21, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18239-18240]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-9072]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

    In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 concerning opportunity for public comment on proposed 
collections of information, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
Services Administration (SAMHSA) will publish periodic summaries of 
proposed projects. To request more information on the proposed projects 
or to obtain a copy of the information collection plans, call the 
SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer on (240) 276-1243.
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collections of 
information are necessary for the proper performance of the functions 
of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology.

Proposed Project: Adult Treatment Drug Court Cross-Site Evaluation for 
the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 
(SAMHSA)--NEW

    SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) is responsible 
for collecting data from 20 recently funded Adult Treatment Drug Court 
grantees and clients being served by expansion and/or enhancement 
grants. The main evaluation question is whether the addition of 
substance abuse treatment resources increases the positive results of 
drug courts. SAMHSA's CSAT-funded grantees are required to participate 
in a cross-site evaluation as a contingency of their award. Data on 
each drug court and their processes will be collected during three 
annual site visits. Some data will be obtained through courtroom 
observations; no questionnaire will be administered to collect 
observational data. Additional data will be collected through 
interviews with drug court personnel and focus groups and interviews 
with drug court clients.
    CSAT requests approval for administering questionnaires to drug 
court personnel. CSAT also requests approval for conducting focus 
groups with drug court clients and administering questionnaires at 6-
months post-discharge from the drug court.

Drug Court Team Questionnaire

    This questionnaire will be administered to key drug court personnel 
(e.g., judge, drug court manager and treatment provider) during the 
three annual site visits to the drug court. This instrument consists of 
15 open-ended questions, and will ask respondents about their role and 
involvement in the drug court process, perceptions of drug courts, and 
the role of treatment and coercion in drug courts (subject to OMB 
approval).

Drug Court Client Focus Group Questions for Guided Discussion

    Focus groups will be conducted during the annual site visits to 
each drug court. During the focus groups, drug court clients will be 
asked 12 open-ended questions about their experiences in the drug court 
program and current efforts towards recovery. Drug court participants 
will be involved in focus groups on 1 to 3 occasions.

Procedural Justice Questionnaire

    This instrument contains 13 items and asks drug court clients about 
their perceptions regarding fair treatment by the judge and drug court 
team during the drug court process. It is hypothesized that 
participants who perceive the judge and drug court team as fair will be 
more compliant with the drug court program, more likely to graduate, 
and have better substance use and criminal behavior outcomes (e.g., 
reduced substance use, fewer arrests). This questionnaire will be 
administered to drug court participants once, during the 6-month post-
discharge interview.

Correctional Mental Health Screener for Women

    A mental health screener for women (CMHS-W) will be administered to 
gather data on drug court participants' mental health. Many drug court 
clients have co-occurring disorders (i.e., substance use and mental 
health disorders). The information gathered during this portion of the 
in-person drug court client interviews will provide a post-discharge 
indicator of mental health status and will be used as a moderator 
variable when assessing client outcomes such as drug use and arrest. 
This questionnaire will be administered to drug court participants

[[Page 18240]]

once, during the 6-month post-discharge interview. The CMHS-W contains 
eight questions, and six items are common between the men and women's 
versions of the instrument.

Correctional Mental Health Screener for Men

    A mental health screener for men (CMHS-M) will be administered to 
gather data on drug court participants' mental health. Many drug court 
clients have co-occurring disorders (i.e., substance use and mental 
health disorders). The information gathered during this portion of the 
in-person drug court client interviews will provide a post-discharge 
indicator of mental health status and will be used as a moderator 
variable when assessing client outcomes such as drug use and arrest. 
This questionnaire will be administered to drug court participants 
once, during the 6-month post-discharge interview. The CMHS-M contains 
twelve questions and the two instruments have six items in common.

Treatment Satisfaction Index

    The Treatment Satisfaction Index will ask drug court participants 
about their satisfaction with treatment received during the drug court 
program. This 19-item questionnaire will be administered to drug court 
participants once, during the 6-month post-discharge interview.
    The estimated response burden for this data collection is provided 
in the table below:

                                       Annualized Estimates of Hour Burden
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                                    Number of     Responses per        Total         Hours per      Total hour
                                   respondents      respondent       responses       response         burden
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Drug Court Team Questionnaire..             240                3             720             .5              120
Drug Court Clients Focus Group              600                1             600            1.0              600
 Questions for Guided
 Discussion....................
Drug Court Clients--Interviews.             816                1             816             .5              408
Procedural Justice                          816                1             816             .09              73
 Questionnaire.................
Correctional Mental Health                  408                1             408             .08              33
 Screener--Women...............
Correctional Mental Health                  408                1             408             .08              33
 Screener--Men.................
Treatment Satisfaction Index...             816                1             816             .08              65
                                --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total......................           1,656  ...............           2,136  ..............           1,128
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    The estimates in this table reflect the maximum burden for 
participation in the Adult Treatment Drug Court Cross-Site Evaluation. 
Burden for drug court personnel is aggregated to reflect total burden 
over the three-year study period. The drug court personnel 
questionnaire will be administered three times; once during each of 
three study years. Burden for the drug court clients is annualized. 
Focus groups and interviews are one-time events. Some drug court 
clients will participate in both a focus group and 6-month post-
discharge interview.
    Send comments to Summer King, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, 
Room 7-1044, One Choke Cherry Road, Rockville, MD 20857 and e-mail her 
a copy at [email protected]. Written comments should be 
received within 60 days of this notice.

    Dated: April 13, 2009.
Elaine Parry,
Director, Office of Program Services.
[FR Doc. E9-9072 Filed 4-20-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P